Really…What have you got to lose?

The morning I applied to Shark Tank was like any other. I got up early, headed into the shop and it was business as usual.

While answering emails I thought. “I should apply to Shark Tank today.” And so I did. 5 days later casting contacted me and the rest as they say, is history.

People are always amazed when I recant this. And it always surprises me. Possibly because that mantra of “what have you got to lose?” is the way I’ve lived my entire life.

Think about it. So what if I applied to Shark Tank and never heard anything? My life would have continued on. I may have been bummed out for a short time but I’d eventually move on to the next idea or thing. What would have been more devastating for me would have been living with the “What if?”, if I hadn’t applied. The thought of wondering what could have been had I not put myself out there is a far worse thought for me.

If not I posted it above. I decided to write a post about a woman whom I admire. Once the piece was finished I even took a chance and tweeted the link directly at her. I hoped she would see and read it. What did I have to lose?

Apparently nothing because Kat did see the blog piece and she started to follow Wicked Good on social media. It was really exciting in a geeky, business “She-EO” kind of way.

I began to think about how cool it would be to combine forces with a company like Cinnabon. After all, they had an amazing president, someone I looked up to. Someone I knew I could learn a lot from. And I LOVE the product. (Who doesn’t?)

So I did it. I tweeted at Kat privately and told her I admired her, loved Cinnabon and thought that the possibility of uniting our two brands was a home run. Daring? Yes. Scary? Yes. But really, what did I have to lose?

Apparently nothing because the end of June, 2015 I received a call from my dream mentor Kat herself!

I was thrilled for many reasons. First the obvious. She thought enough of me as an entrepreneur and a person to give me the courtesy of a response. Second because she thought some sort of partnership sounded like an idea she wanted to explore. And lastly, because I was already involved in a mentoring program, it made me truly understand just how important solid role models are and just how exciting the prospect of learning from a rock star like Kat was.

Fast forward to this month. We launched our Cinnabon branded jars on our website. I usually don’t stop long enough to take a breath and appreciate all that we have achieved in our 4 short years but this time was different.

I actually took a moment to look over the product photography again, the beautifully co-branded labels and of course, the yummy jars. I still can’t believe that 5 months later, a random tweet has morphed into a product and a partnership with Kat and Cinnabon, a billion dollar business.

I’m so happy that I took a chance, put myself out there and simply asked.

Because at the end of the day, when all was said and done, what did I have to lose?